Portland Psychotherapy Team Because I work with people who struggle with addiction, I am particularly attuned to the ways that the public perceives people struggling with addiction and in recovery. Too often, media portrayals of addiction dramatize or glamorize addiction in unrealistic ways. These images contribute to a negative perception of addiction and recovery and lead to misunderstandings, … Read more Vulnerability and Recovery
Everyone has experienced intense fear at some point. Our hearts start racing when we realize we forgot to pick up the kids at school, our hands tremble and sweat as we struggle to unlock the door as a dark stranger looms in the shadows, or we feel dizzy and nauseous as we get up to … Read more Fear of Fear Itself: Why Panic Isn’t Dangerous
Misophonia is a condition in which a person has an automatic, unpleasant internal reaction to specific sounds. This reaction can vary from frustration to panic and even rage, and can be quite an intense experience for the sufferer. Sounds that lead to this reaction are typically sounds from everyday life, such as others’ chewing food/gum, … Read more Misophonia: what the heck is it and what’s a trigger?
The science of mindfulness is a very hot topic these days. In agreement with the research, we find mindfulness to be a very helpful skill to have that is effective for a variety of problems that come with everyday life, such as distractibility, emotional reactivity, and impulsive decision making. If you’d like to learn this … Read more Top 5 Mindfulness Resources
If you have been hurt by someone close to you, it’s likely you are bothered by feelings of shame. Maybe you find that it is hard to stop beating yourself up over small mistakes you make. Maybe you can’t stop thinking about the way you look to other people. Maybe you feel bad about yourself … Read more It’s Not Your Fault: How the Mind Copes with Abuse by Someone Close to you
